


Via Rosemary

by Anonymous



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Beaches, Fluff with a Sad Ending, M/M, Post-Time Skip, Reality and Time, Road Trips, What Was I Thinking?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:41:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28252578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: “This is the last time, I refuse to do this again,” Kenma said pointedly, slipping a pair of sunglasses over his eyes and sinking down in his seat.A chuckle from his side. "You said that the last two times we went and here we are off on a trip again. And c'mon, it's the beach, you're making it sound like hell."
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma
Kudos: 11
Collections: Anonymous





	Via Rosemary

**Author's Note:**

> Pick a word, any word I asked Moni for fic ideas and they said "I refuse to do this again" and this was the end result so yeah,,,

“Ready?”

“Third time’s a charm, isn’t it?” Kenma chuckled dryly as he slipped a pair of headphones over his head and leaned back into the chair. Closing his eyes, he allowed his concerns to float away, meditatively. Seconds later, opening them back up to stare at a blank garage wall as a finger tapped his shoulder. So much for peace and quiet, he sighed.

A tuft of bright orange hair popped out from the side of the car, “I packed the trunk, is that it?”

“Yeah, it should be a quick trip after all.”

His companion beamed at him, a familiar smile that filled his heart with warmth. A routine tilt of the lips that made him weak and always pushed him past his comfort zone. Warmth that stole the word ‘no’ out of his mouth and replaced it with ‘yes’. A smile that used to light up his sky.

“This is the last time, I refuse to do this again,” Kenma said pointedly, slipping a pair of sunglasses over his eyes and settling down in his seat. A few other complaints were voiced as he leaned forward, head colliding with the dashboard. He jolted up in surprise, not expecting it to be scorching hot. 

A faint chuckle from his right. Kenma turned, frown still on his face, “What?”

"You said that the last two times we went and here we are off on a trip again. And c'mon, it's the beach, you're making it sound like hell."

"It is hell to me. Too bright, children running around, and don’t even get me started on the ocean," he shot back, punctuating his point with a groan “Not everyone is as accustomed to the beach like you, Hinata.”

Hinata snorted, "What could ever go wrong? It'll be fun, watching the sunset, playing with the waves, y'know beach things." The car rumbled to life with this, sending light tremors through Kenma’s fingertips. He let out a pleasant sigh of relief at the noise.

 _Everything will work out_ , he told himself over and over.

“Some people don’t have happy go memories of playing beach volleyball, you know? Plus, bold of you to assume we’re staying till sunset. If you freeze your ass off don’t blame me.” 

“But I still think everyone can enjoy the beach. Plus, do it for me? Pretty please?” Hinata pleaded as he typed in the address onto the car display and allowed the system to do the rest of the work. With a pleasant _beep_ the system came to life and the car began to move on its own, backing out slowly and turning around the corner to begin their journey.

"Uh huh, you think you’re so convincing.” He pointed an accusing finger at the other, “You said that the last few times we went here and what happened?"

"You agreed and after that, absolutely nothing~" Hinata giggled as he took out his phone to take a selfie of them. Kenma took the time to adjust his sunglasses, fingers dancing over the rims nervously before the camera shutter went off with a click. Beaming, Hinata typed a quick caption and sent it off to social media with a tap. Kenma’s phone buzzed right as Hinata put his away. 

Sliding his phone out, he projected the photo on their dashboard, “Mhmm, doubtful.” _But I’m weak for you_ , Kenma thought sourly. “Nice photo. Though, shouldn't you be watching the road?”

Hinata stuck out his tongue, “The car can manage, it’s more fun to look at you!”

Kenma just rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the photo, taking note of how the camera already did all the touch ups for them. The lighting in the photo was far better than what they were situated in and he looked much less tired there. But Hinata, he looked exactly how Kenma always remembered, overflowing with joy, contagiously so.

“Want to queue something up?” Hinata nodded towards the sound system, finally situating his hands on the steering wheel. Not like it was doing much with his hands just hovering there but it was reassuring, nonetheless. Kenma shrugged and swiped on a playlist, flicking it to the direction of the screen and watching as the circle spun a few times and registered the song.

Soft lyrics filled the car and immediately the sounds from outside were muffled. 

“Good?” 

“Perfect. Your music tastes are always perfect,” Hinata complimented, “This one’s from that game right? Um the--”

“The one I played for you a few days back,” Kenma finished, “Yeah. Feels like a long time ago. Time is weird like that. You were right behind me, resting on the bed while I played. Remember? It was one of those open RPG games. This song plays in the fields.”

A lightbulb went off above Hinata’s head. “Oh, right!”

Kenma chuckled, it was adorable how exaggerated the other’s reactions were. Spontaneously, he reached over and brushed the hair off Hinata’s face, leaning in to press a kiss onto his cheek. Hinata turned, face flushed red and asked quietly, “We’re almost on the freeway, can I let go now?”

“You’re going to let go whether I say no or not.”

“And you know me too well.” With just that as a warning, a pair of arms were thrown over his shoulders and he was pulled in towards the driver side. Fingers greedily tangled themselves in his hair, “It’s getting a little long isn’t it?” Hinata hummed, “Still beautiful though.”

“You’re such a flirt, whatever shall I do with you?”

“Kiss me.”

Gladly, Kenma thought as he leaned in to connect their lips. A soft delicate touch to the skin, just barely enough to count as a kiss and not a quick peck before he pulled away. “Happy?”

Hinata pouted, “Hardly. I’ve been missing out on my Kenma Kisses.”

“What are you going to do? Make that into a brand name?”

“Maybe I will, but I’m going to have to monopolize that business because your kisses are mine.” It was announced proudly even though Kenma doubted that was how monopolies worked, he played along and teased. “And what happens when you have competition?”

A shrug. “Topple them all!”

“Wouldn’t doubt it for a second.” And he truly didn’t. There was undeniable trust he put in Hinata, the type of trust that would bring him to their destination that was beginning to appear on the horizon. Right on cue, the car began to rumble and notified them they were near. 

And with that warning, Hinata’s attention turned back to the wheel as he sought out a parking spot. Kenma watched the waves come into focus warily, making sure to take advantage of their vantage point from up top, mentally calculating how far they rode up the shore. Eyeing the rocks lining the edge suspiciously, he also made note not to allow Hinata to jump around there. 

Hinata took the first step out and began to practically prance his way to the water. Luckily, there were few people nearby and absolutely no safety hazards in the form of buckets or blankets. Actually, there were few people in general on the beach, only a few blurry, pixelated people far off on the other end of the beach. Way too far for their noise to even reach them in the wind.

The sand beneath this far in was scorching hot and grainy, softening as he took more steps towards the sea. The sky above them was a looming expanse of blue, almost too clear with only speckles of clouds in the distance. A perfectly crafted day.

"C'mon, the water's nice." Hinata called from far ahead.

"So I’ve heard from a certain someone who won’t stop talking about the beach.” He murmured as he waved a hand, and yelled back “Go head, I’ll be back here.”

Hinata shot him a quick thumbs up before running off again.

Kenma crouched down and took a scoop of sand, watching the grains fall slowly through his hands before flopping down on said sand with all their belongings he brought from the car. It was a relatively light bag but he was able to fit the full beach set up in there. 

And once satisfied with their spot, he proceeded to turn his attention to his phone, holding up his hand to block the sun from it. The interface turned on with a soft hum, a screen appearing on the hologram with the time and prompted for his password. It was around noon. With his code, it opened back up the photo he was glancing at earlier so he quickly dismissed that with a flick, finding his way to a different app that told him when the sun would set. In other words, how long they had left.

And with that number ingrained in his mind, he squinted towards the sun to see a figure running up to him. Without a doubt there was only one person it could be.

“Done? Done? Done?”

“Calm down you broken tape recorder,” Kenma scolded lightly, “I need to set up or else where are we going to settle when you tire out. You’re not a perpetual motion machine, contrary to common belief,” From the lack of response, Kenma concluded, “Exactly.”

Hinata lightly tugged his sleeve, pouting “But you’ll come with me now?”

“Alright.”

And thus, he was literally dragged to the water, half stumbling along with the brisk pace and the unfamiliarity of sand between his toes. His extra drag didn’t seem to deter Hinata though who was merrily singing a tune, reaching a crescendo right as the waves hit and jumping away from the splash radius.

Kenma felt a smile tug at his lips, letting himself be pulled into the moment.

"Come on!" _We didn’t get this far last time._

And he followed. He always wanted to. And so, he dipped his toes in the water, ever so cautiously, surprising himself at how warm it was coupled with the soothing feel of sand slipping from the bottom of his feet. It felt so vivid. Even the air felt salty, tingly, and fresh. 

Kenma reached out to hold Hinata’s sleeve, yanking it so he propelled himself forward against the waves and crashing right into the other. A steady hand caught his and began to swing it to the tune of the song he was humming and soon enough, Kenma even recognized it and began to harmonize, kicking up the water with the beat. Two lovers, dancing in the waves on a perfect day.

The song played on, muting out the sound of the waves and only leaving the lingering echo in his ear. One song after another until he could no longer feel his feet under him, as if they were one with the water. Only then did he put a hand on Hinata’s chest tiredly, allowing himself to fall into awaiting arms that pulled him back up and a pair of arms would look around his torso while a chin rested on his shoulder, a pair of lips brushing his ears.

“Wanna head back?”

“How ever do you have so much energy? Rhetorical question clearly.”

Hinata only threw his head back in a laugh, “I’ll carry you back.” And as promised, he easily switched their positions and picked Kenma up piggyback style. And once secure arms were wrapped under his legs, Hinata began to break into a brisk jog, right along the edge of the water where they drifted off to during their little dance. Along the edge of the water, where the sand blurred the lines of reality.

Kenma rested his head on the warm expanse of Hinata’s back as they finally made it to the blankets he set up earlier. Realizing he left his phone unattended, he scrambled off and checked it almost in a frantic frenzy. Almost two hours had passed, how time flew.

“Is everything alright?” 

“Just checking the time” Kenma reassured, “I’m a little worn out, maybe rest here. Meanwhile, there’s a ball in the bag if you want to hit that around.”

That seemed to distract him enough seeing as Hinata rushed to the bag and began to bounce the ball in his hands, testing its weight before deeming it perfect and rushing off again. Nothing was particularly fancy about Hinata throwing and hitting a ball around, yet there was an undeniable itch in Kenma’s hand that made him reach and pick up his phone. It was different from the itch he often got back in high school where he just wanted to play a game, this was rather a desire to capture the moment, to pin his camera on the light.

The camera shutter went off without him realizing.

It always amused him how the auto-focus tuned in on the subject and then adjusted based on the lighting because in this picture, the light and subject were in the same exact person. He allowed himself the serotonin that came after taking several more pictures just like the first, some with Hinata in action, taking those magnificently arching jumps and some at standstill with Hinata just staring at the dipping sun.

“Like the view?” 

“Love it.”

It was easy to get lost in all of Hinata’s antics, but this one wasn't bad, he concluded. It wasn’t as bad as he remembered. In fact, having Hinata there next to him made him forget. Just like how he forgot sunset was nearing so soon. Surely it was better than the time he was dragged to skydiving or the time they impulsively went jet skiing. And so his thoughts drifted and floated on the shore like the waves.

And occasionally in the next hour or so he would get up and throw the ball towards Hinata, always amazed at the hits he got back. But most of the time he would return to his blanket, wrapping one over his shoulders and clasping it in the front with his hands and the other under him. The sun began to set during this time, ripples burning bright oranges as the waves seemed to swallow the horizon.

Hinata finally trotted back, “Was it fun?”

“Yeah, it was fun.” Kenma confirmed, reaching out to pull on Hinata's hand. “Come stay?”

He took one final glance at his clock and did something unexpected. Still holding Hinata with one hand, he used his other arm to chuck his phone towards the sea. A small splash erupted from where it fell, a good distance away. Hinata only watched in shocked silence but didn’t comment.

“That feels better.”

A hum in response.

“Hey Hinata. I love you. I love you. I love you. I want to tell you I love you a million times over.” Kenma yelled into the open ocean. Hinata seemed to falter, confused but regardless stood by his side as Kenma turned and held his hand, “And I wish I did tell you a million times. But for now, three times will suffice for the time we have.”

Hinata shouted into the ocean in return, “I love you too. I love you too--”

“Shhh,” Kenma puts a hand over Hinata’s mouth, “Let me finish. I love how you always go along with things when I need you to. And I love how you bring me out of my comfort when I also need it. I love that you were always there for me. I wish I were always there for you.”

“But you’re here?”

“I love how naive you are. I love how with one click I could reset almost everything that was lost and have you back again, even if for only a few hours. Third time’s a charm, but it’s also the number for goodbyes. And unfortunately, our time is running out again.”

They both pause there, arms intertwined and Kenma crying into the other’s chest. He pulls away right in time for him to feel a faint buzzing in his pocket, the ringtone of the phone he just threw into the ocean, his anchor. An announcement plays in his earpiece. It says two simple words:

 _Low battery_.

Despite it being transmitted directly to his earpiece, Hinata seemed to react to it, scrunching up his eyebrows and reaching out a hand, "What does that mean?" 

Kenma let out a somber laugh at the reaction. It was too perfect. Too much sympathy in that damn expression. It was perfect yet so utterly flawed. But he turned to face Hinata anyway and explained, "It means I have to leave you again. Although I assume you already knew that."

"Why must you leave? Let’s go home, together."

"Because you aren't supposed to be here. I’m weak to your pleading, but there’s nothing I can do. I’d do anything for you, follow you to hell and back if I could. But I can’t." Kenma replied, leaning forward in his chair, “I'm a fool for rerunning this memory file over and over expecting you to return. But no, the waves took you away a year ago.”

Hinata’s distorted voice begins to shout desperately. Too human, too real, too perfect. None of the words register in the system at all. They’re a mess of incoherent code.

“It’s not even summer anymore. But this was nice. Goodbye.”

With those final words, Kenma finally drops his headset, returning back to the world. He’s greeted by a dark room which allows his eyes to readjust to his surroundings. He’s situated on a chair, one that loomed over his head and stretched above it with a headset he just took off. In both his hands were controls that he also promptly dropped. The room was pretty much empty besides that, small and cramped.

“Dr. Kenma? How was the simulation version 3.0 this time? Were there any bugs or glitches?” A voice, his assistant, asked from behind him, bringing him a cup of water.

His brain scrambled back to reality, coughing lightly to erase all sounds of unprofessionalism from his voice. “There was a disconnection halfway through, I couldn't feel the sand for a few seconds as it trickled through my fingers. I might also suggest updating the character profile. It was a little off from how I remember him. Otherwise, it was _perfect._ ”

“Of course, we’ll test it next time.”

“Thank you. You’re excused.”

His assistant bowed slightly before rushing off with notes of what he just said. As the door slid shut and he knew he was left by himself, he stood and reached over to pick up the headset again, lying on a cushioned seat. Silently he held it to his chest and tucked his head in to feel the residual warmth from it. 

“Hinata, it’s been years since I’ve last seen you, I should drop by with some flowers sometime.” Against his better judgement, he didn’t add it to his phone’s calendar. Even if it was one click away. A heavy sigh. “Is it wrong to hold on to this fake, virtual you? Is it wrong to rebuild our memories? I know it’ll never be you but you’re not here anymore, what choice do I have?” 

He finally sets the headpiece down. “This’ll be the last test run I participate in. From here on out, my team can handle it, so it really was saying goodbye was it not?”

Hesitantly he stepped towards the door, making up his mind and finally turning away from his creation. A virtual reality for him to grasp his regrets. 

“Farewell to this box of memories.”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so tl;dr summary/explanation, first two lines and ending is present time which is set in the future. Kenma in this timeline starts a VR technology company and is in the process of testing their so called product. Thus he runs a simulation of a past he wanted to avoid, making his loss into a perfect dream instead. Everything from the car ride to the beach is part of the simulation. 
> 
> I know ppl hate the “it was just a dream” trope bc it undermines all the effort but hear me out: it isn’t bc by the end Kenma is willing to let go and accept death and visit the grave. Not my greatest work but hey I’m just tryna make a tag
> 
> The title, abbreviated is VR for virtual reality + also rosemary is for remembrance said google...
> 
> Let me know if this was even sad I don't know. I don't know what im doing TM. Promo the "fluff with a sad ending" tag if you can :D


End file.
